When Life Gives You Lemons…

… Make lemon meringue cupcakes!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

I had my eyes set on a kitchen torch for quite some time now, but I only recently convinced myself that it was time to buy one. I got super excited and started looking up all the things you could make with a kitchen torch. On one of the chefs forums I stumbled upon, someone suggested serving a 3-course meal that had a torched element as a part of each course. If I end up having a fancy dinner with someone, I might steal that idea. So… anyone wanna come over for dinner? Haha. 🙂

Naturally, I decided to tackle a dessert or two first. I’ve made crème brûlée a few times before, so I thought I’d try my hand at making some lemon meringue cupcakes that were inspired by the Cooking Classy blog. These are lemon-flavored cupcakes, topped with a generous helping of lemon curd and piped with a meringue topping before being torched.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
Makes about 16 small cupcakes (if using mini paper molds)

For the Lemon Curd:

• 6 Tbsp salted butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Whip the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Blend in the egg yolks one at a time, then stir in the lemon juice. Pour this into a medium saucepan and heat over the medium-low setting. Make sure you continuously stir this so that it cooks evenly. When its thickness reaches a pudding-like consistency, it’s ready for straining!

Lemon Curd

Use a fine mesh strainer to remove the lemon zest. Let it cool for about 30 minutes before covering it with a plastic wrap and transferring it to the fridge. When you wrap the curd, press down on the plastic so that it lies directly on top of the lemon curd. This’ll help prevent a skin from forming. Chill for 2 or more hours.

For the Lemon Cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, whip the sugar, butter and lemon zest until pale and fluffy. Next, pour in the vegetable oil. Add the egg, then egg yolks, one at a time. Finally, blend in the extracts followed by the milk and lemon juice. Slowly pour in the flour mixture until everything is just combined. Try not to over-mix!

Fill each paper baking cup about halfway with the cupcake batter. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. You can test when they’re done by sticking a toothpick in one of the middle cupcakes. If it comes out clean, you’re good to go! Let them cool on a rack while you work on the meringue frosting.

Baked cupcakes

For the Meringue Frosting:

• 3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 3 large egg whites, at room temperature

In a small saucepan, whisk together the 3/4 cup of sugar, water and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium heat while stirring constantly to prevent the sugar from burning. Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the pan on medium heat until the mixture reaches 230 degrees.

Whip the egg whites in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Use the medium-high speed and continue whisking until a soft peak forms (it should look like a peak that falls a little bit when the whisk stops moving). Add in the remaining 1 Tbsp of sugar and whisk until combined.

When the syrup has reached 230 degrees, remove from heat and slowly pour it into the egg mixture while the beater is running on low speed. Once everything has been blended, put the mixer back on medium-high speed and beat until a dry peak has formed (about 8 minutes). The meringue should be able to hold its form when the mixer is off.

Assembling the Cupcakes:

Once the cupcakes are cooled, spoon some of the lemon curd on top of the cupcakes until it almost reaches the top of the liner. Then, pipe the meringue frosting on top. Most people like to frost by piping the outside edges and moving in towards the center, but I find that my icing comes out much neater if I start in the center and work my way outwards. Practice and see which works best for you! Once you’re satisfied with your piping, grab your torch and brown those edges.

Torched Attempt #1

Aren’t they adorable? I think the cups I used make them look a bit like an ice cream sundae.

The sweetness ratio was pretty on point for this cupcake. However… If I were to make these again, I’d cut down some of the sugar in the cake and then double the amount of lemon curd I made. Afterwards, I would cut a hole in the middle of the cupcakes (via knife or cupcake corer) to create some lemon-filled cakes. I’ll keep you all updated if I end up trying this any time soon!

– Chef μChip

Wanna Piccata?

Yes, this title is a rip off of the ever-popular Wendy’s commercial, but I figured it was good enough for my first, real non-dessert post. If you’ve been following my posts from the very beginning, then you’ll know that I used to work in the catering industry (as did my roommate, The Food Scientist). Back in those days, my main jobs were focused on appetizers and desserts, so I’m much more accustomed to making small plates. However, consistent with the rest of my SASE-related experiences, I figured I would step out of my comfort zone and try my hand at some real cooking with a simple entrée known as “Lemon Chicken Piccata.”

The word “piccata” refers to a food preparation method. The meat is sliced, coated, and sautéed before being topped with a sauce. I believe that veal is typically used in European countries; but here in the States (especially the Southern ones), we like our chicken.

Recipe (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis):

• 2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and cut in half
• Sea salt
• Ground black pepper
• Garlic powder
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 5 Tb unsalted butter
• 5 Tb extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• Fresh parsley

Begin by mixing in the salt, pepper and garlic powder with 1/2 cup of all purpose flour. I didn’t actually measure the seasonings I added, so I just kept adding ingredients until it smelled good to me. Dredge the chicken breasts in the flour and shake off the excess.

Next, melt 2 Tb of butter with 3 Tb of olive oil. When it starts to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for about 3 minutes per side. Melt another Tb of butter and add 2 Tb of olive oil to the pan and cook the rest of the chicken in the same manner.

For the sauce, add the lemon juice, wine and chicken broth in the same pan you cooked the chicken in, making sure to scrape up some brown bits for extra flavor. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer in the sauce for 5 minutes.

Once the chicken is finished cooking, remove it from the pan. Add the 2 remaining Tb of butter and whisk it in vigorously. Taste the sauce and see if it suits your palate. If not, do a little experimenting by adding some more chicken broth or seasonings to the pan. I personally added a couple cloves of minced garlic and a splash of more chicken broth because it was a bit too lemony for my liking. When I finally deemed it edible, I poured the sauce over the chicken and garnished it with parsley.

Stay tuned for more cooking adventures!

– Chef μChip